Very Cool!!!

That was an excellent one.

Overrated and overhyped

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This film is very entertaining but Shaw apparently missed the boat in researching Burgoyne's character (he obviously didn't read Burgoyne's journal or other material from the era which was no doubt too hard to track down back then).In this film Burgoyne is skittish and worried, rebuffs an officer about risking his men's lives using bayonet charges. In fact, Burgoyne was the leading proponent of the bayonet, even issuing an order that the soldiers were not allowed to fire their weapons without a direct order and that the supremacy of the British bayonet was to be impressed upon them. He'd had experience fighting the Spanish in an earlier war and was not a reluctant warrior.Also in the movie he's a bit timid because he states the rebels have them outnumbered by six to one. They were in fact outnumbered (probably more like four to one, although accounts from the time vary) but he did not know it because his Indian scouts had deserted after Bennington and he had trouble getting intelligence reports. In fact, he led the last battle as a reconnaissance mission to test the enemy's strength, and had promised his subordinate generals that he'd (finally) give in to their pleas to retreat if the enemy was too strong. That recon mission proved to be his final reckoning in the war.But watch the movie anyway. It's very entertaining.

"The Devil's Disciple" is based on a play by George Bernard Shaw. It recalls of a page in the history of the American Revolution. The play and this film interject considerable humor and satire in otherwise serious matters of the time. All of the cast are good in their roles.Burt Lancaster is the Rev. Anthony Anderson. Kirk Douglas is a rogue patriot, Richard Dudgeon. Laurence Olivier is the epitome of the arrogant and unbending British general, Burgoyne. Janette Scot plays Anthony's wife, Judith Anderson. She's a conflicted woman after she meets Dudgeon. She loves her husband but also falls for Dudgeon, in his adventurous ways. But two can play at that, as she find outs with Anthony at the end of the film. Harry Andrews flourishes in yet another of his fine British uniform portrayals.The story takes place in the days of leading up to and the start of the American Revolution. Shaw's sarcasm and cynical treatment of some of the beliefs of the time underlie the story. The film isn't exceptional, but Lancaster's production company pulled together a stellar cast for this humorous look at history and poking fun through the pen of G.B. Shaw.This is the third film that Lancaster and Douglas made together. Most movie buffs should find the film amusing.

This is in answer to otter_c, who wrote: "The only disappointment is Laurence Olivier as General Burgoyne. Olivier castigated himself in his autobiography for botching one of Shaw's most hilarious roles, his personal griefs were overwhelming him at the time. He's nervous and unfocused, line after wonderful line falls flat. (He returned to form shortly after in "Spartacus" and "The Entertainer")"All due respect to both you and Sir Lawrence, but I think this is an instance where his self-appraisal is a little off-target.I've always enjoyed this performance as a very excellent portrait of a thinking man and wit under a great deal of pressure, with no idea that Olivier did not care for it -- thing is, Burgoyne IS distracted; he has more important fish to fry than this petty punitive hanging, and even before he gets the news about Howe he is deeply concerned for the continued viability of his command: He tosses off his bon mots as the after-thoughts of the kind of intellect who could actually write plays when he wasn't under siege in an unpopular war in unfriendly country.And I find that makes them and Burgoyne funnier than, say, Ian Richardson's total self- awareness in the '87 BBC production.Olivier liked to be In Control when he worked; and in some of the roles in which I do not much care for him I feel it makes him artificial and excessively mannered. So naturally, a performance given when he was overwhelmed with grief is gonna rankle the perfectionist in him; but since he was preoccupied with other, more important (to him) matters it put him willy-nilly square in the same frame of mind as I gauge Gentlemanly Johnny to have been in as disaster loomed, I feel it really helps make the performance live in a way the studied Olivier technique might not have come within yards of.The two men -- the actor and the general he portrays -- are up against it, but instinct pulls each through even if more distractedly than if under less severe constraints; there is still enough of the essence of each to make a credible showing.The artist is not always the best critic of his own work; and Olivier's General Burgoyne is excellent work whether the actor knew what he was doing or not.

When George Bernard Shaw wrote `The Devil's Disciple', it was not one of his favorite plays. In fact, he seldom allowed for it to be performed, while he was alive. By any standard, it does not stand up as well as some of his other plays (`Pygmalion', `Candida', `Saint Joan', `Major Barbara', `Arms and the Man', etc.). This film is rewarded with a screenplay that while uneven at times, maintains the spirit and flavor of Shaw's writing. It is also the beneficiary of three strong performances by Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and especially, Laurence Olivier. It is rumored that with most of the Lancaster-Douglas films, that the two men would not decide until just before production started, which role they were going to play. In this film, it wouldn't matter. Built on a premise of role reversal, the actors and their roles are interchangeable. In fact, I think it would have been interesting if the movie were filmed twice. Once with the actors in their current roles, and another version with them swapping identities.Both give marvelous performances. Kirk Douglas starts out a little too broad, but you are instantly drawn to him as a man/patriot. His trial scene with Olivier is the highlight of the film. With Lancaster, you can see the foundation work being prepared for his role of `Elmer Gantry'. His fight scene with the soldiers has just the right amount of humor and slapstick. And is anyone as striking as he is when he first enters in his buckskins?But it is Olivier who steals this film. I have read how he did not really enjoy working for Lancaster and Douglas, and so he more or less threw his lines away without much conviction. If that is true, it worked for this picture. He has by far the best lines, best characterization, and straight-men to play off of (especially Harry Andrews). Nice work is also turned in by George Rose.`The Devil's Disciple' is by no means a classic. But it is a must see for film buffs, who want to see three terrific performances, and a pair of friends who obviously had a great chemistry between them, as well as a lot of fun working together.7 out of 10